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GM recalls another 2.4M vehicles for belts, bags, more

Four separate recalls cover problems with safety belts, airbags, transmissions and fires as GM tries to root out potential safety issues and avoid another scandal similar to the one involving deadly ignition switch flaw

General Motors is recalling a total of 2.42 million vehicles in four separate actions to fix safety flaws.

The total nearly matches the 2.6 million cars GM recalled in three stages earlier this year for a deadly ignition switch flaw. The biggest recent recall day, however, was last Thursday, when GM announced five recalls that totaled 3 million vehicles.

GM also said it now plans to take a $400 million charge against second-quarter earnings for the costs of recalls — double the $200 million it had forecast after the five recalls last week.

The automaker took a $1.3 billion charge the first quarter for recalls, almost wiping out its earnings.

GM says the new recalls are part of its "continuing effort to quickly address emerging safety issues."

The government fined GM the maximum $35 million last week for dragging its feet on the ignition switch defect — spotted within GM in 2001 but not recalled until this year.

By GM's count, its "house cleaning" has resulted in 29 recalls in the U.S. so far this year, including Tuesday's. Two involve fewer than 100 vehicles.

GM links 18 crashes and one injury to one of the problems in the latest recall, but no fatalities. The ignition switch fault is linked to 12 deaths in 46 accidents that involved injury or death in the U.S. and one fatal crash in Canada.

The vehicles involved, and their defects:

1,339,355 Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse, GMC Acadia full-size crossover SUVs from the 2009-14 model years and Saturn Outlooks from 2009-10. Front safety lap belt cables can wear out due to people moving around while wearing the belts. GM told dealers they can't sell new or used versions of the vehicles until they are repaired.

1,075,102 vehicles were added to an April 29 recall to fix a transmission shift indicator cable that can wear and fail to indicate the correct gear. Added in this action: 2004-08 Chevrolet Malibu and Maxx, 2007-08 Saturn Aura, 2005-08 Pontiac G6. This fault is the one linked to the 18 crashes and one injury.

58 Chevrolet Silverado HD and GMC Sierra HD full-size pickups from the 2015 model year because loose electrical connections in the engine compartment could cause a fire.

1,402 Cadillac Escalades and Escalade ESVs from the 2015 model year because a flaw in how the passenger-side front air bag is connected to the dashboard could cause the bag to inflate improperly in a crash. Only 224 of those had been sold, and GM sent those owners overnight letters warning of the condition.